Acheron Highway: A Jonathan Shade Novel (29 page)

“She’s dead.”

“We know.”

“They’re all dead.”

“We realize that.
 
We’d like you to accompany us to DGI for a hearing.
 
The seer will pull up images of what transpired at the Royal Gorge bridge yesterday.
 
If we determine that you are at fault for Darla Stevenson’s death, you will face the consequences.”

I blinked, thinking it couldn’t get worse.
 
“Consequences?”

Ralph broke in.
 
“We realize you’re not a wizard, but you have been heavily involved with the magical community, so our laws do apply to you.”

“I’m not sure I follow you.”

“Simply put, we’re going to review what happened.
 
We’ll allow you to tell your side of the story, and then we’ll pass judgment.
 
If you’re exonerated, you’ll be free to go.
 
If you’re found guilty…”

“What?”

Catherine gave me a serious look.
 
“You’ll be put to death.”

“Just like that.”

She nodded.
 
“Sentence to be carried out immediately.”

“I’m not sure Persephone will allow that.”

“I’m sorry,” Ralph said.
 
“Persephone?”

“She’s the one who actually killed Darla and everyone else.
 
She was using Miranda Hammond’s body to get around.”
 
I cocked my thumb toward the bedroom.

Ralph glanced at the purse again.
 
“Miranda is here?”

“What’s left of her.”

Ralph looked at Catherine.
 
“Will you be all right for a moment?”

She glanced at the silent Sekutar who stood behind her.
 
“I believe so.”

Ralph crept down the hall and peeked into the bedroom.
 
He stared for a moment then made a beeline for the restroom.
 
I heard retching and coughing.

“You don’t want to go in there,” I said to Catherine.

A minute later, the toilet flushed.
 
When Ralph returned to the living room, the color had drained from his face.

“Did you...did you do that?”
 
He pointed toward the bedroom.

I shook my head.
 
“No, but it was my fault.”

“You’re coming with us.”

Thoughts finally started to form, and I knew I didn’t want to go with them.
 
“If I go with you, I could get more people killed.
 
Persephone wants me alive.
 
I accept full responsibility for Darla’s death.
 
If she hadn’t been with me, she’d still be alive.
 
Of that, there’s no doubt.”

“We’ll look at what happened,” Catherine said.
 
“If someone else is ultimately responsible, you’ll be released.”

“Ms. Meyer, do you want to die?”

“Are you threatening her?” Ralph asked.

“I’m simply asking her a question.”

“No one wants to die, Mr. Shade.”

I gave a half laugh.
 
“That’s not true.
 
Some of us probably deserve to die.
 
I’d recommend you go back to DGI.
 
You can have your seer pull up whatever she can pull up.
 
You can make whatever determinations you like, and you can put out a death warrant for me if you want, but for the safety of everyone at Dragon Gate Industries, I’m going to bow out of that hearing.”

“We’ll find you.”

“I know.
 
Go take a look and make your decision.
 
Either way, I have a few things to handle today, and it’s safer for everyone if I do these things alone.”

Catherine looked deep into my eyes.
 
“Are you all right?” she asked.
 
I could see the concern on her face.

“No,” I said.

She started to reach for me, but I stepped back.
 
I knew she just wanted to place a hand on my arm in a gesture of kindness, but my life no longer had any room for such things.

“Please go.”

“If you’re innocent, we can help you,” Catherine said.

“You wouldn’t say that if you saw what he did to Miranda Hammond,” Ralph said.

Catherine shook her head.
 
“Whatever you saw in there, I don’t think Mr. Shade did it.
 
He’s clearly been through an extremely traumatic experience.
 
I don’t need my magic to see that.”

“He admits responsibility.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s guilty.
 
Go wait in the car.”

“But—”

“Go!”
 
She pointed toward the door.
 
She turned to the warrior.
 
“You too.”

“As you wish,” the warrior said.
 
He gave me a nod.
 
“We may get to dance soon after all.”

I realized he was the warrior I’d had words with at the elevator a few days ago.
 
I think his name was Drake.
 
I didn’t say anything.
 
I just watched him go.

When we were alone, Catherine motioned for the sofa.
 
“Let’s sit down for a moment.”

I shrugged and sat down.
 
She sat as well and reached for my hand.
 
I pulled away.

“May I please see your hand?”

“It’s really not safe to get too close to me, Ms. Meyer.”

“Your hand?”

I sighed and held out my hand.
 
She took it in both of hers.
 
She closed her eyes.
 
She flinched and let go.

“I’m very sorry for your loss, Jonathan.”

She reached for my face, and I started to pull away, but she shook her head and I stopped.
 
She brushed tears away from my eyes.
 
I hadn’t even realized the tears were there.
 
Brand would have called me a crybaby.

“I don’t know what the council will decide, but I want you to know that I believe you’re innocent.”

“None of us are innocent,” I said.

She nodded.
 
“Very well.
 
Allow me to rephrase.
 
I don’t believe you’re responsible for the deaths of your friends.
 
They were your friends, right?”

I nodded.
 
She must have been some sort of
empath
.

“In my opinion, you’re not guilty, and I’ll tell that to the council.”

“Can you please leave before Persephone decides you’re a friend of mine?”

She gave me a sad smile.
 
“I’m simply doing my job.”

“Keep it that way.
 
My friendship is a death sentence.”

“We’ll let you know what the council decides.
 
Until then, you are not to leave town.”

“I have nowhere to go, Ms. Meyer.”

That last bit was a lie, of course.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Walter’s house stood silent and still.
 
I parked Kelly’s SUV at the curb and walked up to the front door.
 
It was locked.
 
I knocked and rang the bell, but no one answered.
 
I wasn’t sure whether or not Persephone would have considered Ryan a friend of mine, but it was probably safe to assume that she did, and that meant he was dead.

I stepped back and kicked hard at the door by the knob.

The jamb splintered and the door swung open.

I stepped inside, closed the door, and went directly to the basement.

There was no crime scene tape anywhere, so the bodies had not been discovered yet.
 
I moved into the center room.
 
Some of the blood was still wet and sticky, but most of it had dried.
 
I wouldn’t have considered Cynthia a friend exactly, but evidently Persephone drew the line in a different place than I did.

I walked carefully, not to avoid stepping in the blood—that would have been impossible—but to make sure I didn’t slip in it.
 
I yanked the drawers out of the filing cabinets.
 
Each drawer held a multitude of files—all the notes on all the remote viewing missions Walter had ever done.
 
One drawer had a label that read
Lou,
so I ignored that one.
 
Killer sunflowers were not going to be useful.

The drawers were heavy, but I carried them two at a time up the stairs and out to the SUV.
 
I loaded them all into the back.
 
On my final trip to the basement, I stepped into Walter’s room, where his remains were splattered across every surface.

“I’m sorry, Walter.”

I knew he couldn’t hear me.
 
Not only was he dead, but his soul had been ripped to shreds.
 
It just seemed disrespectful not to acknowledge him in some small way.
 
It wasn’t much, but it was all I had to give.

I returned to the SUV and loaded the last of the drawers full of files.
 
I closed the back then moved around to the driver’s side and opened the car door.
 
I noticed a silver Mercedes parked one house down, and I saw the Sekutar get out.
 
Drake smiled and pointed at me, gave me a thumbs-down, then, with his right index finger, drew a line across his throat, and tipped his head back.
 
He started walking toward me.
 
“Let’s go for a ride,” he said.

I held up a finger, climbed into the SUV, and grabbed a sword from the backseat.
 
He couldn’t see the sword from his vantage point.
 
I held the hilt in my right palm and stepped down, keeping the blade at an angle behind my back and out of sight.
 
To help hide it, I also had my laptop computer in its canvas case, which I held with one finger of my right hand.
 
It made it look like my arm needed to be down and didn’t make my walk seem unnatural as I closed the car door and turned to face him.
 
In my left hand, I held a notebook, which I held up as I walked toward him, letting the wind ruffle the pages.

“What’s that?” he asked pointing at the notebook.
 
“Your confession?”

I nodded and looked at the ground in a gesture of submission as I approached him.

He had a sword strapped to his waist, and to his credit, his hand clutched the hilt, ready to yank it free in a heartbeat.

“All right,” he said.
 
“Let’s go.”
 
He sounded disappointed.

When I got close enough, I tossed the notebook at him, dropped the laptop, and whipped the sword around.

He caught the notebook.

My sword caught him in the neck and lodged there.
 
I hated magically engineered warriors.
 
It’s so much harder to decapitate them.
 
I pulled the sword free and swung again.
 
He tried to dodge and pull his own sword, but I was too fast, and the distraction of the notebook still had him a bit off guard.
 
The second swing did the trick, and his head bounced on the street.
 
His body stood there for a moment then toppled backward.

I dropped the sword and approached the Mercedes.

Ralph stared at me, and I saw that his hands glowed with magic.
 
He was ready to attack, and he didn’t hesitate.
 
He let the energy fly.

I let it wash over me, and it didn’t even mess up my hair.

“What the hell?”

“Sorry, Ralph.
 
I’ll have to pass on the sentencing.
 
I’ll give you one chance to simply drive away.”

“We’ll come after you, Shade.”

“Drive away.”

He opened the car door.

I sighed, pulled my Beretta, and shot him three times in the head.

Without glancing back, I picked up my computer, strode to the SUV, climbed in, started the engine, and drove away.